Inset: James S. Hill (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The scene outside the home after Hill allegedly killed his wife (WSYX).
A 76-year-old man in Ohio is accused of killing his 64-year-old wife, fatally stabbing her in the chest with a kitchen knife because he was allegedly being blackmailed by a woman he had met online with whom he had exchanged nude photos.
James Stephen Hill was taken into custody over the weekend and is currently facing one count of aggravated premeditated murder in the slaying of Mary Kathleen Hill, court records show.
Authorities said that after killing his wife, Hill tried to take his own life by stabbing himself in the chest, referring to the incident as a “domestic-related attempted murder-suicide.”
According to a news release from the Upper Arlington Police Department, officers responded to a home in the 1500 block of Fishinger Road following a “reported 911 hang-up call” from the address. Upon arriving, first responders located an adult female — later identified as Mary Hill — suffering from an apparent stab wound to the chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police found James Hill inside the home suffering from severe injuries after he allegedly tried to take his own life. The Upper Arlington Fire Division transported him to a local hospital where he was admitted in stable condition.
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Court documents filed in Franklin County Municipal Court allege that Hill “purposefully” attacked his wife inside the couple’s home with “prior calculation and design” to cause her death.
“After being unable to locate a firearm within his home, James Stephen Hill obtained a kitchen knife, proceeded into the home office where Mary Kathleen Hill was working and stabbed her once in the center of her chest while standing behind her, causing her death,” prosecutors wrote.
Police interviewed James Hill in the hospital, where he allegedly admitted to killing his wife, claiming he was the victim of a blackmail scheme being perpetrated by a woman he met through an online dating site, Columbus CBS affiliate WBNS reported.
James Hill reportedly said at some point during their interactions, he and the supposed woman exchanged nude photographs. That’s when the individual he met online allegedly put a sextortion plot into action.
On the morning of Nov. 9, the person James Hill sent the nude photographs to sent him a message demanding $15,000 in Apple Pay cards. If James Hill didn’t provide the funds, the person he sent the photographs to said they would release them publicly.
James Hill reportedly told police that he “could only think of one way out of the situation,” which is when he decided to kill himself and his wife.
He allegedly decided to use a knife because he could not remember where he had hidden his guns several years earlier, local ABC affiliate WSYX reported. James Hill then allegedly went into the office where his wife was sitting and began rubbing her shoulders.
Mary Hill told her husband the massage felt good, which is when he allegedly plunged the kitchen knife into her chest, apologized, and continued to hold her in his arms until she died.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that James Hill also attempted to fatally stab his dog, but she was able to run away. He then deleted a series of photographs and documents from his computer before stabbing himself in the chest and calling 911.
James Hill was supposed to appear in court for his arraignment on Wednesday, but the proceedings were delayed because he was still being treated in the hospital. He is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail without bond, records show.
